konvas M1

thierry goron · July 3, 2008

Hi , do you have somes informations about lens adaptator OCT 18 ( my camera ) to OCT 19 ( because i think it's more easy to find oct 19 lens ) and what sort of mattbox y can put on my camera ? original one ? or modern one ? thank you . Thierry .

James Steven Beverly · July 3, 2008

There is no such thing as an OCT-18 to OCT-19 because the OCT-19 is MUCH bigger that the OCT-18 and there is NO WAY to make the OCT-19 fit. This picture of my 35mm round front anamorphic gives you a perspective of the size of an OCT-19 mount:

If you want to use the OCT-19 lenses, sell your 1m and gather another 500 to 1000 bucks and buy a 2m. The Konvas 2m is set up to take OCT-19 lenses and you CAN buy an adapter from OCT-19 to OCT-18 so you can use the 1m lenses on a 2m camera. They're about 100 or 200 bucks if I remember correctly.

Konvas made a matte-box set for it's spherical lenses but as of yet, I have not found an original matte-box for the square front, OCT-18 mount anamorphics though I am positive somewhere along the line they built one specifically for the 1m. Most commonly is is recommended to adapt the Kinor 35 anamorphic matte-box to the Konvas. I may custom build or adapt a smaller anamorphic matte-box from a another company to my Konvas KSR-1 as I don't really care for the bulkiness of the Kinor matte-box on such a small, often hand held camera. I was fortunate enough to snag one of the original Konvas 1m matte-box sets on Ebay. They come up every once in a while. Here are some shots of the set:

Edited July 3, 2008 by James Steven Beverly

Rafael Pankratau · July 3, 2008

It is impossible to make an adapter to use oct-19 lenses on an oct-18 camera.

thierry goron · July 3, 2008

thank you for your messages and for the photo , y see on" Konvas .org "a picture of a new front for the turret of M1 with only two lens mout , one for OCT 19 and one for nikon mount , y think it's the good way and for the mattbox can y adapte a Format one or a Chrosziel ? Thierry .

James Steven Beverly · July 4, 2008

Do you have Nikon lenses or lenses with an OCT-19 mount? If I were you, I'd have the 1m serviced and use the OCT-18 mount lenses that came with it. If you don't have any that came with the camera, check ebay, they're for sale at 1/10th the price of OCT-19 mount lenses all the time yet still retain that incredible Lomo quality which is comparable to the Zeiss and Cookes of that era. Also check Rafcamera.com . He's got some over there if I'm not mistaken. I will almost bet that camera came with at least a set of 35mm, 50mm and 75mm lenses though, they always do and that's all you need to start. Oct-19 mount lenses are a LOT more expensive and you're gonna open up a whole can of worms changing out the turret. The camera will then have to be re-calibrated so the lenses will focus properly and that ain't cheap.

This is the most inexpensive 35mm good quality reflex motion picture camera available. Think of it as a Volkswagen, It'll get the job done well and economically but don't try to turn it into a Mercedes, it's NEVER gonna be one and you'll just end up being disappointed. Accept it's limitations and revel in it's simplicity, ruggedness and advantages over larger, more unwieldy 35mm movie cameras. The 1m is one of the best cameras out there and was used to shoot the Russian masterpiece "The Cranes are Flying" . It can also be set up to shoot anamorphic with a set of 2piece, OCT-18 mount anamorphic lenses, an anamorphic gate and a deanamorphic viewfinder and is probably the least expensive anamorphic package on the planet! If I were you, I'd make it work as is which is EXACTLY what I did with my little KSR-1. As for a matte-box, wait and buy an original one or look for an old Arri one and modify it. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, the Oct-18 is the Soviet version of the Arri mout of the time but I could be wrong on this. Also the old Mitchell matte-boxes go pretty cheap and should be able to made to work.

Edited July 4, 2008 by James Steven Beverly

thierry goron · July 6, 2008

thank you for your message , I read it many times , it's a smart reflection , I have a combi volkswagen( it's my usual car ) and I love it because it's a combi and nothing else . So I keep my Konvas M1(0ct 18) in the original condition and I try to use it like that . I have 4 originals lens 28mm , 35mm , 50mm , 75mm in oct18 it's not enough ? I try to found a larger and longer lens and I need a mattbox . About anamorphique lens I dont know exactly what is the differents solutions , I saw real anamorphique lens ( expensive ) I saw a anamorphique lens adaptateur to put in the front of the lens ( one is sphericle and one is square ) and onother one to put in the back of the lens . What is the good and not expensive solution ? Best regard Thierry (excuse my bad english Sorry )

James Steven Beverly · July 6, 2008

MORE than enough in fact that's a good set. 90% of almost everything you shoot will be with these lenses. Take your time and try to eventually find the 100mm and 150mm, that should complete the original set that came with the camera but no rush so wait for good lenses at a good price. I saw a 300mm lens on Ebay last week with an OCT-18 mount and should have bid on it but I didn't have the cash to spare so I had to let it go. The point is they are out there at a good price. As for the 2 piece, OCT-18 mount anamorphics, there are 3 of them on ebay right now, Rafcamera.com also has 2 of the 35mm front attachments:

http://rafcamera.com/lenses-attachments-c-27_29_53.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/75mm-anamorphic-lens-f...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOMO-NAS-ANAMORPHIC-AT...1QQcmdZViewItem

The last 2 actually make up a full small set of 35mm, 50mm and 75mm which is exactly what I have, though when I bought them a year or two ago, I paid about $550 bucks for a the set in excellent condition with the original wooden boxes and the dovetail support for the 75mm which is the way they came from the factory although I am missing the screw-in focusing arms that were suppose to come with it. Still $892 bucks + free shipping or best offer for a full set an anamorphics is utterly amazing, I paid $1300 for a single OCT-19 mount, round front anamorphic 3 years ago and because of Red digital cameras and the fact the OCT-19 can very eazily be converted to PL mount, combined with Lomo's excellent quality, the prices of Russian equipment has soared. OCT-18 remains a bargain though which is good for us Konvas users! There are none on there at the moment but the de-anamorphic viewfinder runs about $250 bucks usually and Rafcamera.com has one and the anamorphic gate which is usually on there but is not right now goes for any were from $10 to $87 bucks. Rafcamera.com has one of those too.

http://rafcamera.com/accessories-body-acce...c-27_30_34.html

http://rafcamera.com/accessories-viewfinders-c-27_30_37.html

So if you want to spend money on lenses, consider getting a set of anamorphics, along with a gate and viewfinder for under 2 grand! Square front anamorphics tend to breath a bit so no quick rack focusing but aside from that, they are incredible!

Edited July 6, 2008 by James Steven Beverly

James Steven Beverly · July 6, 2008

Also, don't worry about the matte-box too much, those original spherical lens front elements are set back a bit and almost have a built in hood so take your time and find an original one like I have for about 500 bucks or make an older one from another company work. There's no hurry you can always use screw in filters and still shoot although I used Cokin A and Cokin P filters in their original matte-box (I still use the filters just not the matte-box) because they're inexpensive but good quality. They're resin filters so you do have to be a little careful with them but considering what even used Tiffen filters run, I'll go with the Cokins, they're cheap to replace even if I do screw one up.

http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/search....earch&fgtp=